


lingering in the air

by orphan_account



Category: Team Fortress 2
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Implied Relationships, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Reader-Insert, fem pronouns
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:28:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26099416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Medic has been pushing himself way too hard... it is up to you to stop him.
Relationships: Medic (Team Fortress 2)/Reader
Comments: 12
Kudos: 95





	lingering in the air

**Author's Note:**

> Hello TF2 fandom! Notes go at the beginning!!
> 
> Today I offer to you MORE Medic fanfic cause I truly do love him a whole lot.
> 
> This one is super special because I actually got a request on tumblr!!!! The lovely person requested some comfort with lots of face kisses, and I don't know how well I delivered, but it inspired me to write this fic! So if you're reading this, thank you!!
> 
> Anyways, I don't take requests in the traditional sense of the word, but if you have any general prompts, you can message me on my tumblr and it might inspire me to write something! No guarantees though... sorry :(
> 
> I don't really write much hurt/comfort so I wasn't sure how to approach. I also don't really care for super sickeningly sweet mush so I tried to include both concepts in ways that feel natural and not awkward.
> 
> I was interested in the idea of Medic being somebody who, despite being fine without it, would be somebody who would need somebody to keep a close eye on him. In this case, that care manifests itself as affection and such.
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy reading! :D I had fun writing this one :)
> 
> Thanks ya!!

How long had he been up? Nobody knew, because when Medic locked himself in the medbay, everyone knew not to bother him. It was common knowledge, an unspoken rule. There were, of course, only a few exceptions. Heavy was allowed in, but it would only be when Medic himself dragged him down. Medic always preferred to appoint Heavy as his guinea pig, after all, they were quite close, and Heavy was more than willing to comply. Engineer wasn’t allowed in per se, but he would occasionally try to remind Medic to eat something, or take a break.

Medic kept the doors locked, preventing anybody from coming in. Unless they decided to bash the door down, which in that case, would be met with a very angry German man standing in front of them. Y/N was the only one who could enter in on Medic’s work and not get immediately kicked out. Of course she’d get kicked out eventually, but she could actually get in some words of concern.

It was on nights like these when Y/N could show off her magic ability to ease Medic’s nerves and convince him to finally go to bed. She crept up to the doors to the medbay, carefully monitoring the air. She would know when he stood up, and what his footsteps meant. She knocked.

“Hey, Doc, let me in? It’s me, Y/N,” she called.

There was a pause, a stillness from inside the room. He was thinking. She heard the sounds of Medic standing up, then confident footsteps approaching her. Y/N heard the swift sound of doors unlocking and took a step back. 

The door creaked open, a disheveled, tired man standing in front of her. She sighed, a concerned grimace dorned her face. 

“Doc, you-”

He scowled, annoyed at what he knew she would say.

“If you’re here just to tell me to stop working, I’ll have to ask you to leave. I’m in the middle of surgery right now, if you mind,” he began to retreat back into the stone cold light of the medbay.

Y/N stuck her hand out and grabbed Medic’s bloodied gloved hand. Panic flickered in her eyes. She grabbed him instinctually, not thinking about the consequences. 

“I just want to watch, that’s all.” She stared up at him, pleading with her eyes. She wasn’t lying, she did want to watch him, to be closer to him, but she’d be lying to say that that was the only reason. Y/N just hoped that Medic didn’t see that part of her plea. 

“Please?” she asked.

Medic, who looked very surprised at her physical advancement, stared deep into her own eyes, obviously trying to read her. After only a moment, he let out a heavy sigh, gently pulling her alongside him into the medbay.

Y/N was met with a one-of-a-kind sight. There were cardboard boxes littering the floor, presumably equipment or body parts. There were mugs that were stained brown with old coffee. There was a body, Y/N didn’t know who, and neither did Medic, laying on his examination table, strapped down at the ankles and wrists. There were carts, papers, bottles and vials of just stuff scattered across any table space the eye could see. The medigun was propped up on its hanger, shooting a small beam of light across the subjects body. 

“You can find a seat wherever you want.” Medic croaked, returning to where he was working before. He stood at the examination table, picking up a scalpel and resuming his work.

Y/N carefully walked from one side of the room to the other, pulling up a chair across from Medic, making sure not to put the chair too close.

Medic seemed to notice this.

“Y/N, come closer. You wanted to watch, right?” His face remained neutral, but there was a lilt in his voice that sounded like he was teasing her? The bastard.

She scooted her chair up, sitting right in front of the body. Y/N didn’t know how long they stayed like that. Minutes, hours, days? Time felt like it was moving so slowly, the meticulous clatter and clanks of metal against metal, and their own soft breathing filled the room. 

Y/N couldn’t help but notice Medic’s posture. His shoulders were visibly stiff, he must have been clenching those muscles without thinking about it. His eyebrows were furrowed, and his torso was hunched over the examination table. He looked weary and sore, there was no way he wasn’t in any pain. Knowing him though, he could bear it, and if it was really too much, he had an arsenal of questionable pain killers. 

And after what felt like hours, Medic finally decided to sit down, pulling up a chair to where he was standing before. The air in the room was thick and heavy with unspoken grief. He was frustrated, and from the looks of it, he was using all of his restraint to hold it in. Perhaps it was because of the girl in front of him, or maybe he just didn’t want to indulge in that frustration at all. 

His gazed dug into the ground as he ground his teeth, fists clenching and unclenching as he thought of the words to say. Y/N wanted to speak, to comfort him, but she knew all her words would do is break the camel's back. If he’s going to burst into flames, she’d rather let him do it himself. She was always better at extinguishing the fires he’d start. She was on cleanup, and he made the messes.

“You know, being somebody like me, somebody who’s studied and worked for years on,” he paused, “this, I shouldn’t be struggling this much but-” he shook his fist, knuckles white from the pressure. “It’s hard, seeing your own hard work go nowhere. I feel like I’ve failed”, he finished. He let out a breath he was holding.

Y/N felt her heart break. The anguish in Medic’s voice was too painful to listen to.

“You didn’t fail, you-”

“You- you’re right, I didn’t fail, I couldn’t have failed, but I haven’t made any progress. That’s almost the same thing as failing. I’ve tried electroshock and blood transfusions, which both reaped negative results. I’ve tried everything and anything that I could have possibly learned in my life, only to get nothing. I have no choice but to continue but, how do you continue without even an idea of where to start?“

And although she wanted to deny him, and to say that wasn’t true, Y/N knew all too well what he felt. She couldn’t argue with him, hell, it wasn’t her place to argue with him. His questions were rhetorical, dripping with a lonely amusement, like he was laughing at himself.

“That’s why we experiment,” she suggested, “but you need to get some rest. You’ll drive yourself crazy.” 

“I can’t take a break, I need to finish this-”

“You can finish it later. You don’t even need to rest for too long, maybe just get an hour or two of sleep,” she bluffed, “you’ve got, God… How many years? You’ve got enough time left to figure it out. 2 hours isn’t a long time. Nobody’s pressuring you to finish this other than yourself. Your achievements are seen, but nobody wants to see you like this. I don’t want to see you like this. ”

Medic held her gaze in his own, locking their eyes together. 

Y/N swallowed and stood up, stalking towards him. She paced around the examination table that separated them, and swiftly nudged his leg out with her own. Quietly, she sat herself down on his lap, straddling his hips with her own. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and Medic, like it was a habit, thumbed her shirt up just enough to slip his hands onto the bare skin of her waist. 

He nuzzled his face into her neck, taking a deep breath as she ran her fingers through his hair.

“Please? For me, at least?” she pleaded.

“Y/N, you’re being sneaky.” 

“I know.” 

“You shouldn’t try to tempt me like this.”

“It works.”

“Not this time, I’m still working.”

“I won’t sleep until I know you are too.”

“I won’t sleep until I’m finished.”

“Then I won’t sleep.”

Medic’s grip tightened a bit, “your health is too important. You’re going to bed. I don’t want to watch you hurt yourself.”

“Yet you let me watch you hurt yourself without a second thought. You’re so smart, and determined, and I love watching you work, but I can’t stand the sight of you forcing yourself so rigorously.”

His thumbs stroked her skin gently. Y/N nudged him off her shoulder, pressing her forehead against his. She then leaned forward to leave gentle kisses across his face. Starting with his nose, she moved to his cheeks, his eyebrows, his jaw, and finally his lips.

“What would I do without you?” That was Medic’s way of apologizing to her. She sighed, leaning back down to place one last kiss on his lips. 

“You’d be hopeless,” they smiled sweetly at each other, “but you know, I won’t get off you unless you carry me to bed.”

“I can’t carry you right now, I’m too tired,” he began, and to Y/N’s surprise, he stood up with her remaining in his arms. “I’ll just walk you there instead, ja?” He placed her on her feet.

Y/N snuck her hand around, tenderly latching onto Medic’s gloved one. There it was, the classic, smug grin that he’d shoot her whenever he came up with something nefarious. Only this time, she could tell he was just happy. 

“Next time you’ll have to carry me,” Y/N pouted. Medic wiggled his hand from her grip, instead placing it on her back as he guided her out of the medbay. 

“Yes, yes, of course, next time it is.” He chuckled.

“Promise?” 

“Promise.”


End file.
